It’s SIFF season, baby! Seattle’s favorite film fest returns this month with 262 films over 11 days (April 14–24) screening both in-person and online. We’re rounding up some of our favorites. Every day, expect two more recommendations on Slog.

The Ghastly Brothers SIFF

Stranger Things meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Ghostbusters in this delightful kid-friendly romp about ghost-hunters at a boarding school. Lively humor and puppets are a hoot (and often quite gross), and ghosts are a neat metaphor for wrestling with emotional demons of impending adolescence. Copious Dutch puns are valiantly localized with varying levels of success. (Haunted bird: “Poultrygeist.” Haunted refrigerator: “Frightdge.”)

Photo of the week. Fred Nye / Courtesy of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Spring has sprung, the birds have sung, let’s recap what this week has brung. (Please call me an ambulance.)

Amazon Labor Union organizers meet with Teamsters: In a crossover episode that resulted in the photo of the week, Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer from Amazon Labor Union met with Sean O’Brien, the new Teamsters General President, to discuss how Amazon workers can win their first contracts from the company.

These two kings seem to have a lot in common: Right down to the quality of their sound clips. After the big ALU win, ALU President Christian

Poorna Jagannathan and Casey Thomas Brown in Megan Griffiths’ new film, I’ll Show You Mine, premiering at SIFF 2022. SIFF/I’ll Show You Mine

Commenting on Washington’s recent investment in the state’s film incentive program, Seattle filmmaker Megan Griffiths told us that the state’s filmmaking industry is “in such a better position today than we were even two months ago.”

“Build our incentive further than it is right now and watch the ripple effect,” she dared.

We sat down (over Zoom) and talked with Griffiths (of Room 104, Sadie, and lots more) in anticipation of her newest film, I’ll Show You Mine, having its world premiere at this year’s Seattle International

Although Washington’s statewide mask mandate has been lifted, venues may have their own health guidelines in place. We advise directly checking the specific protocols for an event before heading out.

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COMEDY

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At this month’s Cornucopia, Seattle’s uproarious improv teams (including resident ’90s lovers Slap Bracelet) take to the stage for four 20-minute performances. Improv expert Mike Christensen curates the funny feast.
(Jet City Improv, University District, $12)

FILM

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Jess Stein

Last weekend, I visited Seattle’s little sister for the first time since I was a kid. Some Portlander stopped me on the street to offer their tarot reading services (I declined) then gave me a business card announcing they also sell shrooms (I accepted). What a very cute small town! I also bumped into tons of hot stickers—one demanding me to eat my landlord, another comparing I.C.E. to the Gestapo, and one of hard dicks in gun holsters. I like how Portland does it!

P.S. Watch our latest Sticker Patrol video, where we blast off to the Center of the Universe. OK, love you, bye 😘😘😘

No more complaining about homelessness until after you’ve read this book. University of California Press
Every Pacific Northwest hiker knows the old joke about how to escape a bear attack: Just make sure your hiking buddy is slower than you! Har har. It’s a worn-out wisecrack, but it’s a pretty accurate description of the way Seattle and other cities like it handle homelessness.

Sure, we could just spray the charging bear with mace rather than sacrifice our fellow hiker. Other hikers like us do that, and it works out just fine for them. But we hate the smell, we mistakenly believe it hurts the environment, and it costs us money.

Elton John’s final dates on his epic four-year Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour include a two-night return to the Tacoma Dome. Hip-hop legend Pusha T will take a break from his feud with McDonald’s and stop by with his It’s Almost Dry tour. Poetic pop diva Banks will light up the Moore Theatre with her fourth album, Serpentina. Plus, there’s another spring music festival to look forward to—The Crocodile’s Belltown Bloom will include indie rock royalty Alvvays, Crumb, Wet, Billie Marten, and Widowspeak. Read on for details on those and other newly announced events, plus some news you can use.

Tickets go on sale at 10 am unless otherwise

Here, homes are for money, not people. Charles Mudede

A study conducted by Zillow revealed that house-price inflation (a form of inflation that, like stock-price inflation, apparently has little to no political impact) in most major metro areas surpassed in 2020 “the median salary in those locations.” The Seattle metropolitan area was no exception. Indeed, it was one of 10 housing markets that experienced “the widest gap between home price appreciation and median salaries.” This should not surprise anyone, because it is in the nature of capitalism to replace the value of people with the value of things. In Marxian language, this is called reification.

Weather Update: It’s near noon,